February - Landscape tips

With the quiet winter we have been having and the spring like weather we will be experiencing this week, it’s a great time for getting your spring gardening under way.

• Order perennial plants and bulbs now for cut flowers this summer. Particularly good choices are phlox, daisies, coreopsis, asters and lilies.
• Check bulbs or tubers you’re storing for summer flowers and get rid of any that are soft or appear diseased.
• Send off seed orders this month to take advantage of seasonal discounts. Some companies offer bonus seeds of new varieties to early buyers.
• If you have a vegetable garden, try growing at least one new vegetable that you’ve never grown before. Dwarf varieties that use less space while producing more food per square foot may be better than what you’re growing.
• Don’t start your vegetable plants indoors too early. Six weeks ahead of the expected planting date is early enough to seed fast-growth species such as cabbage. Eight weeks is best for slower-growing types such as peppers.
• Have your lawnmower professionally sharpened and tuned now to avoid the rush later.
• Also sharpen and oil tools such as shovels, shears and trimmers and tune up gas-powered weed-eaters if necessary.
• Contact Northampton to discuss any landscape or hardscape projects you may considering.